Marc Sadowski, host of the asweome FujiLove podcast, had a special guest on his show: Fujifilm USA manager Victor Ha.
They talk about all things Fujifilm, with the focus on the X100VI, film simulations, insights as to the growth of Fujifilm’s photography community, growth of new markets, etc.
Down below are just some excerpts. Make sure to listen to the whole podcast at FujiLove here.
X100 line everyday carry camera
always a successful line
when a camera is announced, there is a spike in sales for that camera of course
then, typically, a camera can last (in terms of sales) between 18 to 24 months
but in 2020 there were lockdowns. People were a lot at home and had lots of time to pass on social media, needing to find things to spend time and pass the day. People looked into photography
the X100VI started to gain traction because of what happened on social media
social media, the revival of film photography and Covid had an impact on the success of the X100V. But social media had the biggest impact
when X100VI was announced, nothing could have prepared Fujifilm for the sheer amount of request for that camera
Fujifilm is doing its best to fulfill orders
Fujifilm tried in several way (software, hand checking) to battle scalpers in regards to X100VI orders
What Fujifilm noticed, is that the X100VI got very popular also among people who are primary creators in another field that is not photography (chef, hair stylist). Professional in another creative field and they use photography to show what they are creating to other people
also popularity among younger generation, who use different media to express their creativity
film simulations and getting JPEG out of camera have become more important
I speak four languages. This linguistic advantage allows me to encounter a multitude of perspectives and follow many more content creators than probably most of you.
And in my journey feeding my Fujifilm hunger on YouTube I stumble on just everything: from huge channels notorious for their clickbait titles and superficial knowledge of the Fujifilm system, to the hidden gems that, despite their depth of expertise, haven’t gained the recognition they truly deserve.
Over the years, I have learned to filter out those I trust from those I don’t.
One of the guys I trust is Andrea Cimini.
Who is that guy you ask?
A professional sports photographer using Fujifilm since many years now. And we actually shared his channel once here already:
While things have improved with the latest firmware, there are still some issues.
In a nutshell we could say: the older firmware of Fujifilm’s 5th generation gear is superior to the newer firmware.
Andrea Cimini for example explains how with firmware 1.00 in his X-H2S he got awesome results compared to the ones he is getting now with firmware 7.00.
Same goes for Thierry Gibralta, who compared X-H2S firmware 1.03 vs 7.00, and you can clearly see that, side by side, the 1.03 firmware is much more solid, with great tracking, little to no pulsing and definitely a very solid autofocus that can be easily trusted.
And it’s also this initially solid autofocus, that convinced Andrea Cimini to buy the Fujifilm X-H2S for his sports photography.
The Problem in Depth
Now, since I guess many of you do not speak Italian, I will sum up the video of Andrea in bullet points. But if you can, watch the video (and follow him).
in the last year, the firmware updates of Fujifilm were not reliable
when he tested the X-H2S with firmware 1.00, he was stunned and thought Fujifilm finally caught up with the best
he tried the X-H2S at several sport events and in one bicycle race with 400 people participating
he took 2,300 pictures and only 27 were out of focus (98.8% in focus)
over time, the more he updated the firmware, the more the autofocus got worst
with eye detection, some times the eye detection says the eye is in focus, but it is not
the hit rate at 10-15 fps drops a lot
in sports photography, when in 5 to 8 fps, the hit rate is between 80% to 95%
in sports photography, when in 10 to 15 fps, the hit rate is between 30% to 50%
if the situation in sports photography are particularly difficult (backlight, inside a forest, etc), the hit rate drops further
linear motor lenses don’t focus so “linear” in video. He compares the 16-55mm with LM vs the 18mm with LM and the 16-55 is smooth, but the 18mm is jerky
firmware 7.00 improved things and the hit rate went up. But it’s still not where it was with the initial firmware
So why does he still stick with Fujifilm?
best value for money ratio
he shares a chart where he compares a Sony and Fujifilm system, and a Sony system would cost him 5,000 Euro more than a Fujifilm system
moreover, he grabbed the flagship Fujifilm X-H2S vs the non-flagship Sony A7IV
The X-H2S has better EVF, better LCD, faster bursts, better video specs, etc.
With Sony A7IV he would make an upgrade in terms of Autofocus, but a downgrade on pretty much all the rest
He ends up saying that Fujifilm Italy contacted him asking all the details about the problems he is encountering, the settings etc, and that they would forward everything to Fujifilm Japan.
He still believes in the brand, there are lots of reasons he wants to stay with it (which he quickly lists in the video). So please Fujifilm, do something about the autofocus.
The Easy Solution
So, Andrea Cimini and Thierry Gibralta have shown that the first iterations of Fujifilm’s 5th generation autofocus was solid and significantly superior to what we have now.
Solid tracking, incredibly high hit rates at fast fps, smooth focus transitions with little to no pulsing and so forth.
So the solution could be actually a pretty easy one: Fujifilm should take that older AF algorithm and just put it back into their 5th generation cameras.
But as of now, the choice users have is: should I upgrade to the latest firmware to get all the other goodness that Fujifilm has generously given us for free (Reala Ace, red frame indicator, etc), or downgrade at my own risk, give up on Reala Ace & Co, but have again the great autofocus of almost 2 years ago?
I made the choice for myself already. I upgraded. But I don’t really shoot critical sports photography. And for my use, the latest X-T5 June firmware has fixed the issues that arose with the April firmware. In fact, I used it for a family travel in Rome and Tuscany and it worked just great for me. So I rather keep Reala & Co, as the autofocus is good for my type of use.
And honestly, I do not recommend anyone to make DIY downgrades. If anything goes wrong, you won’t be covered by warranty.
The way to go is to ask Fujifilm to give us the autofocus solidity they once already had. Take that older algorithm and give it to us. And then, build up even better from there.
According to data from the research company Techno System Research, Fujifilm is the 4th best seller in terms of mirrorless cameras in 2023 behind Canon, Sony and Nikon.
Canon 41,2%
Sony 32.1%
Nikon 13.2%
Fujifilm 8%
Other brands 5.5%
Let me just say with a bit of sarcasm that the 8% of Fujifilm could be 16% if only they were able to ship the gear that has been ordered.
I know Fujifilm sets its targets for each camera, and as long as they hit those targets, they are happy. So it is not artificially created shortage, but just sales target they set themselves and that they are happy with if they meet those targets.
But Fujifilm needs to think bigger (and produce more), if they want to climb the ranking.
